Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Maldives are Buying Land in Australia as Preparation for Mass Migration

The Maldives Archipelago is one of the most idyllic destinations on
the planet; beautiful tropical islands in the Indian Ocean surrounded by
coral reefs abundant with sea life. It is also one of the lowest
nations on the planet. About 80% of the 1,200 islands are less than
three feet above sea level, so if sea levels rise by 23 inches over the
next century, as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, the Maldives will disappear beneath the waves. 14 islands have
already been abandoned, and the Maldivian population will eventually
have to evacuate their country, becoming the first refugee victims of
global warming.

Unfortunately, on their own the Maldives can do nothing to combat
climate change and prevent rises in sea level, and as a result they must
face the reality that they will lose their land. The Maldivian
President, Mohamed Nasheed, says that his people obviously want to
remain on the islands, but “moving was an eventuality his government had
to plan for.” In the Search for a new home for his countries 350,000
citizens he looked at India and Sri Lanka (due to cultural similarities)
but has eventually settled on Australia. Nasheed set up a sovereign
savings account, funded by revenue from tourism, with which he has been
buying land on high ground because “he did not want his people living in
tents for years, or decades, as refugees.”

The island nations of Tuvalu and Kiribati are also facing similar
problems and have approached the Australian government to discuss the
possibility of immigration assistance, hoping that they could move their
entire nations to Australia, but thanks to their president the Maldives
are one step ahead in as much as they will already own their own land
and will therefore not require the bureaucratic generosity of other
nations.